GM video shows autonomous Chevy Bolt driving at night

DETROIT -- General Motors has released its third video of an autonomous Chevrolet Bolt EV cruising the streets of San Francisco as part of a series showcasing the automaker’s developments with Cruise Automation.

After producing the first video a couple months ago, the latest installment, released Wednesday, is the first to show the vehicle driving at night.

Videos show each vehicle’s encounter with double-parked cars, cyclists, being cut off by other drivers -- and in the latest video -- a raccoon running across the car’s path, which it appears to slow down for.

An “autonomous-vehicle trainer” sits behind the steering wheel, ready to take the wheel but has not needed to intervene in any videos yet. An engineer in the passenger seat takes notes and GM President Dan Ammann sat in the rear seat in the latest video, said Kevin Kelly, GM advanced technology communications spokesman.

GM has been testing Bolt vehicles with Cruise, which it acquired in March 2016, on roads in Detroit, San Francisco and Scottsdale, Ariz., near Phoenix.

So far, the videos take place only in San Francisco, Kelly said, where a majority of the testing is done and where GM recently said it will invest an additional $14 million for a new r&d center.

“It’s also one of the most challenging environments for autonomous testing,” Kelly told Automotive News. “It’s important to point out what these technologies are facing on a daily basis.”

Kelly said he couldn’t say when or where the next videos will take place, so “stay tuned.”